On This Meatless Monday, an Avid Carnivore Prepares for a Week of Veganhood

I just consumed my last meal, consisting of a deliciously bloody flat iron steak with Boursin cheese and caramelized onions cooked in bacon fat, topped off with a fried egg also cooked in bacon fat.

I'm not being marched off to my execution, though -- my fate is slightly less final and significantly more voluntary. I'm going vegan for a week.

That's right: No animal products for seven days. Why the hell am I doing this? Lately my eating habits have taken a turn for the worse; I love and do eat fruits and vegetables but recently my diet's been dominated by an excess of meat, cheese and carbs. I'm hoping to do a system reboot of sorts by avoiding meat and dairy (and honey and so on ) for one week and then slowly reintroducing them. (Then again, the moment it's over I might hightail it to Wingfield's for a stupidly ginormous bacon burger. I'm not making any promises.)

I'm kinda-sorta-not-really-at-all prepared for this; I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while so the fridge is mostly bare. I have almond milk for my morning coffee, and a batch of vegan banana muffins (no eggs, vegetable oil instead of butter) in the oven as we speak. That should carry me through to the afternoon; after that, your guess is as good as mine as to what the hell I'm going to eat.

I'm browsing recipe sites and cooking blogs, bookmarking vegan recipes and making a grocery list. I'm looking forward to revisiting Spiral Diner and checking out the V-Spot; I hear Cane Rosso's got vegan pizza with soy cheese, too. I'm pretty confident that I can do this; I've had something like seventeen Meatless Mondays already, so seven in a row shouldn't be too hard, right? (If I sound like I'm desperately trying to reassure myself, it's because I am.)

The biggest obstacle I foresee is actually not myself but other people. I often go out to eat with friends during the week, and our usual destinations aren't quite vegan-friendly--I'm pretty sure Off-Site Kitchen has nary a vegan item on the menu, and I would doubt my willpower in the presence of a 48 hour smoked brisket sandwich anyway. My boyfriend refuses to eat a meatless meal, let alone step foot inside a vegan restaurant. Complete social avoidance may actually be the key to my success this week.

I take solace in one simple fact, though: alcohol is largely vegan by default. All my beloved cocktails are fair game, as long as I avoid those with honey or egg whites.
If all else fails, I can have Oreos (which are oddly enough, totally vegan, along with all this other crap) and a couple gin and tonics and call it a day.

There are a number of restaurants where there are vegan options for you and your boyfriend to dine at. Indian, Thai, Ethiopian, some tex-mex, etc. Also, if you you call ahead and confirm, there are plenty of high end restaurants that will make you a custom vegan dish. If you check out http://dallasvegan.com/, they've got a list of some restaurants where you can dine with your omnivore friends. Personally, I think omnivores make veganism much harder than it has to be. Restaurant recommendations: Spiral Diner, Veggie Garden (both the chinese and the korean restaurants), D'Vegan (vegan pho and banh mi) and Cafe Elite. If you're willing to drive to Arlington, Loving Hut is also available.

Listen to your meal, even if your not vegan are you trying to kill your heart and arteries ? Fried egg cooked in bacon fat and onions cooked in bacon fat? And the world wonders why by 2030 over 40% of people will be considered overweight. You can eat healthy and great meals without going vegan, but warm your meal posted you almost better off eating pork skins dipped in duck fat butter. Good luck on your journey.

This is awesome Whitney! I often find a reboot helps after a time of bad eating (yes, vegans can eat bad too). If you have time, stop by Sundown at Granada on Thursday for Vegan Drinks - it's a monthly social group that gets together at various vegan-friendly places for food & drink. http://dallasvegan.com/feature...

Congratulations on taking this challenge Whitney. I applaud your efforts to eat a healthier, more humane diet. If you need help, encouragement, recipe ideas or anything else throughout the week, don't hesitate to contact me at info@oaklandveg.com.